MADISON, Wis. — It’s been almost a year since construction began on the Madison Catholic Diocese’s new cathedral.
Leaders said they’re making progress on the renovations at St. Bernard in Madison, but there’s still a lot more work to do.
From the inside, the church is nearly unrecognizable. Scaffolding fills the space and new paint and artwork covers the walls and ceiling.
The diocese is also still hoping to raise more money to cover some of the unexpected expenses that have come from renovating the building that’s more than a century old.
“It's a huge project,” said Bishop Donald Hying. “Of course, like any project, when you open up an old building, you're going to find surprises that you weren't anticipating.”
The Madison diocese has been without a cathedral since 2005, after a fire burned down its former cathedral, St. Raphael.
Rather than build a new building, leaders decided to renovate St. Bernard into a cathedral. It’s a decision Bishop Hying said was ultimately the best one.
“It’s a better utilization of resources,” he said. “It's smart stewardship. To have built a new cathedral from scratch downtown would have cost upwards of $80 million if we wanted to make it truly beautiful as this is.”
Reverend Michael Radowicz is the pastor at St. Bernard, and has seen the day-to-day changes at the church.
He said it’s been humbling to witness, and said the parish community at St. Bernard has been just as welcoming to the changes.
“Going from a parish church now to a church that will host diocesan celebrations, people from far and wide, they're very much looking forward to that spirit of welcome,” Rev. Radowicz said.
As they watch the renovations progress, it’s not lost on leaders in the diocese how similar their situation is to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
Both cathedrals were lost to fires, and are now getting the opportunity to rebuild.
“It just shows in both cases the power of resurrection,” Bishop Hying said. “That forces can destroy, but we are always here to rebuild.”
Bells rang across the United States Saturday afternoon in solidarity with Notre Dame. While St. Bernard wasn’t able to ring its bells due to the construction, the diocese is hopeful sound will replace the silence at the end of 2025.
They hope to have renovations done by then, so worship, music, and bells can fill the space.
“I envision our cathedral to really be a place of gathering for the whole city where we can really join together and seek the common good,” Bishop Hying said.